Why can you hear football games so well? Check the microphones.

NEW YORK — The late Steve Sabol, former president of NFL Films, said it best.

“You feel with your ears.”

And now, more than ever before, television is bringing the sounds of football's violence and strategy into fans' homes.

“Sports is ultimate reality TV,” said John Entz, Fox Sports' executive vice president for production. “People want to go behind the curtain. They want to see how meals get made, how they sell their homes. They want to see how people lead their lives. They want to see everything, and that includes sports.

“They want to feel like they are right there. They want to get inside the huddle. They want to get inside the locker room, and they want to hear the game as if they were right down on the field.”

This season, as quarterback Peyton Manning steered the Broncos toward the Super Bowl, Manning's crystal-clear line call of “Omaha! Omaha!” captured the nation's fancy. In Denver's victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, businesses in Omaha pledged to give his charitable foundation $800 for each “Omaha” he shouted during the telecast. Thirty-one shouts of “Omaha” raised $24,800.

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Manning's calls, as well as those of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, will be part of Sunday's Super Bowl TV experience. Offensive guards for both teams will be wearing tiny microphones in their pads during Sunday's game on Fox.

NFL Films was at the forefront of in-game audio for decades, clipping a microphone to the umpire's cap to capture the sound of the snap. But prior to the 2010 season, for safety reasons, the NFL decided to move the umpire's position from the middle of the defense to well behind the quarterback. Then NFL officials decided to put a microphone in the back of the pads of offensive linemen.

Although the viewers' experience has been enhanced by improved sound, many NFL coaches and players haven't exactly been thrilled with the innovation. Now, teams not only study film of their opponents, they also study sound. For Manning, whose formation calls and checks at the line of scrimmage are at the heart of Denver's offense, it's meant even more adjustments.

Coach John Fox was asked here what Manning's “Omaha” call meant. That drew an unprompted reaction for Fox.

“I won't get into the exact specifics (of 'Omaha'), and really, we've never been real thrilled that the league kind of makes us put these microphones on players,” Fox said. “It's not real fun for us. I know we have to change a lot.”

During a Monday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins this season, there were a number of errant snaps from Dallas rookie center Phil Costa to quarterback Tony Romo. Costa claimed the Redskins' defenders were shouting simulated snap counts that mimicked Romo's normal cadence, resulting in errant snaps. That led the NFL to issue a memo to teams saying that centers were no longer required to wear a microphone for the purpose of television broadcasts.

“Clubs will have the option of having the microphone placed in the pads of the starting center OR in the pads of both starting guards,” the memo read. “If the club chooses the option of wiring both starting guards, the microphone will be opened on the pads of only one of the guards at any time .”

That means that Broncos center Manny Ramirez won't be wired for sound Sunday, but guards Zane Beadles and Louis Vasquez will be. That means that Manning's Super Bowl voice, and “Omaha! Omaha!” will be heard loud and clear by millions of fans sitting on their couches.